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DGWB Hired To Make Waves For Ocean Pacific

Surfwear Maker Spending $4-6 Mil. to Resuscitate Lagging Image LOS ANGELES–After winning Ocean Pacific’s $4-6 million account, dGWB is looking to revitalize the famous surfwear brand, made popular during the 1970s. Irvine, Calif.-based dGWB won the account late last year after a review that included Southern California shops the M1 agency and Ground Zero, both in Santa Monica [Adweek, Jan. 19]. There was no incumbent. DGWB had been working on various trade assignments for OP over the last year, according to agency president Mike Weisman. “Our Southern California heritage and OP being an icon of the West Coast is a good marriage,” Weisman said. “The brand hasn’t disappeared. We just need to bring it to the front of people’s minds.” Advertising will focus on relaunching the brand through broadcast, print, promotions and sports sponsorship programs, according to Weisman. The campaign is set to break in the second quarter. Founded by surfer and surfboard maker Jim Jenks, OP has seen its financial performance suffer in recent years. Its reported annual wholesale volumes of around $400 million during the 1980s dropped to around $70 million in the early 1990s. The surfwear maker was sold to Berkeley International Capital Corp. in 1993. Advertising has been handled in-house for the last several years. The company spent less than $1 million on ads last year, according to Competitive Media Reporting. Richard Baker, OP’s chief executive officer since early 1997, formerly served as president of Tommy Hilfiger Womenswear, Esprit, Izod Lacoste Menswear and Girbaud. Separately, dGWB launched a new campaign for wireless communications client Qualcomm in a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl broadcast. The spot will air again next month and be joined by two additional 30-second black-and-white ads. The new spots for the San Diego client continue the previous commercial’s plot, with the protagonist avoiding peril as others pursue his Qualcomm phone.